Monitoring-screen-data generation device, monitoring-screen-data generation method, and reecoridng medium

ABSTRACT

A monitoring-screen-data generation device includes an object-data generation unit, a screen-data generation unit, and an assignment processing unit. The object-data generation unit identifies a plurality of objects included in an image based on image data, and generates object data. The screen-data generation unit generates monitoring screen data on the basis of the object data. On the basis of definition data that defines a state transition and the object data, the assignment processing unit assigns data that defines the state transition to an image object included in a monitoring screen of the monitoring screen data.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a monitoring-screen-data generationdevice, a monitoring-screen-data generation method, and a recordingmedium to generate monitoring screen data.

BACKGROUND

A monitoring control system monitors and controls a plurality of devicesprovided in facilities. The monitoring control system displays amonitoring screen on a display device. On the monitoring screen, aplurality of image objects, including symbols that representmonitoring-target devices, are placed. On this monitoring screen, thesymbol visually changes on the basis of the state of themonitoring-target device to indicate a state transition. Thisfacilitates the monitoring.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a monitoring-screen-data generation devicethat generates monitoring screen data that is data of a monitoringscreen. In the monitoring-screen-data generation device, monitoringscreen data including an image object is generated from image datacaptured from outside.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.2012-174128

SUMMARY Technical Problem

However, in the conventional monitoring-screen-data generation device, asystem designer needs to manually assign data that defines a statetransition to an image object. This requires a significant amount oftime and effort to create monitoring screen data.

The present invention has been achieved to solve the above problems, andan object of the present invention is to provide amonitoring-screen-data generation device that can easily generatemonitoring screen data in which data that defines a state transition isassigned to an image object indicating a monitoring-target device.

Solution to Problem

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, amonitoring-screen-data generation device according to an aspect of thepresent invention includes an image-data obtaining unit, an object-datageneration unit, a screen-data generation unit, and an assignmentprocessing unit. The image-data obtaining unit obtains image data thatis data of an image. The object-data generation unit identifies aplurality of objects included in the image of the image data obtained bythe image-data obtaining unit, and generates object data that includesinformation on the objects. The screen-data generation unit generatesmonitoring screen data on a basis of the object data generated by theobject-data generation unit, the monitoring screen data being data of amonitoring screen including an image object that is an object of animage among the objects. On a basis of definition data that defines astate transition and the object data, the assignment processing unitassigns data that defines the state transition to the image objectincluded in a monitoring screen of the monitoring screen data.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, there is an effect where it ispossible to easily generate monitoring screen data in which data thatdefines a state transition is assigned to an image object indicating amonitoring-target device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of amonitoring-screen-data generation device according to a firstembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing to beperformed by a control unit of the monitoring-screen-data generationdevice according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a specific example configuration of themonitoring-screen-data generation device according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image on the basis ofimage data according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of image object dataaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of character object dataaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of device data according tothe first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of component definition dataaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen of monitoringscreen data according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of item definition dataaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of assignment dataaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in thecontrol unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a process at Step S11 illustrated inFIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a process at Step S13 illustrated inFIG. 12.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configurationof the monitoring-screen-data generation device according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of amonitoring-screen-data generation device according to a secondembodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scaling-factor settingscreen displayed on a display device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in acontrol unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of amonitoring-screen-data generation device according to a thirdembodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of item template dataaccording to the third embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of signal definition dataaccording to the third embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of assignment dataaccording to the third embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating another example of the item templatedata according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in acontrol unit according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of amonitoring-screen-data generation device according to a fourthembodiment.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of a mask setting screendisplayed on a display device according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in acontrol unit according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of amonitoring-screen-data generation device according to a fifthembodiment.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an example of first image dataobtained by an image-data obtaining unit according to the fifthembodiment.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an example of second image dataobtained by the image-data obtaining unit according to the fifthembodiment.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram illustrating merging of object dataaccording to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram illustrating merging of the objectdata according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating an example of character object dataincluded in merged object data according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrating an example of device data included inthe merged object data according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating an example of a monitoring screenaccording to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in acontrol unit according to the fifth embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A monitoring-screen-data generation device, a monitoring-screen-datageneration method, and a recording medium according to embodiments ofthe present invention will be described in detail below with referenceto the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited tothe embodiments.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of amonitoring-screen-data generation device according to a first embodimentof the present invention. A monitoring-screen-data generation device 1illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a communication unit 10, a control unit20, and a storage unit 30. The monitoring-screen-data generation device1 generates monitoring screen data that is data of a monitoring screenfor monitoring a plurality of devices provided in facilities or a plant.Examples of the plant as a monitoring target include a waterpurification plant, a power plant, and a factory.

The monitoring-screen-data generation device 1 generates monitoringscreen data that is data of a monitoring screen including a plurality ofimage objects. The image objects that constitute the monitoring screeninclude a symbol component indicating a monitoring-target device and aline component connecting the monitoring-target devices. In thefollowing descriptions, the symbol component is sometimes referred to as“symbol”.

In a monitoring control system that monitors and controls a plurality ofdevices provided in a plant, the monitoring screen data is informationused for generating a screen to be displayed on a display device (notillustrated) in order to monitor and control each of the devices. Thismonitoring screen data includes data that defines a state transitionassigned to an image object in addition to data of each object asdescribed later.

The state transition described above includes at least one of a behaviorof an image object in response to a signal received from amonitoring-target device and a behavior of an image object when anoperation is performed on the image object. The behavior includes atleast one of a change in condition of the image object and a display ofa device operation screen.

The change in condition of the image object includes at least one of thechanges in color, shape, and pattern of the image object. The change incondition of the image object also includes a change in numerical valuedisplayed within the image object. The device operation screen is ascreen used for operating a device that inputs or outputs a signalassigned to an image object.

The communication unit 10 transmits and receives information to and fromother devices (not illustrated) through a network 2. While the network 2is an intranet, it is allowable that the network 2 is a network otherthan the intranet.

On the basis of image data obtained through the communication unit 10and data stored in the storage unit 30, the control unit 20 generatesmonitoring screen data in which data that defines a state transition isassigned to an image object.

The control unit 20 includes an image-data obtaining unit 21, anobject-data generation unit 22, a screen-data generation unit 23, anassignment processing unit 24, and a data output unit 25. The storageunit 30 can store therein template data 31, object data 32, monitoringscreen data 33, definition data 34, and definition-assigned monitoringscreen data 35.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing to beperformed by the control unit 20. With reference to FIG. 2, theprocessing to be performed by the control unit 20 illustrated in FIG. 1is described below. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, only part ofthe images of image data 3 obtained by the image-data obtaining unit 21is displayed for convenience of explanation. The image of the image data3 refers to an image before being digitized into the image data 3 and isan image obtained by reproducing the image data 3.

The object-data generation unit 22 identifies a plurality of objects 60a to 60 d included in an image of the image data 3 obtained by theimage-data obtaining unit 21, and generates the object data 32 thatincludes information on the objects 60 a to 60 d.

The object 60 a is a symbol component and is an image object. The object60 b is a character string and is a character object. The objects 60 cand 60 d are line components and are image objects. Hereinafter,descriptions will be given mainly on the processing to be performed onthe objects 60 a and 60 b for convenience of explanation. The object 60a is sometimes referred to as “image object 60 a”, while the object 60 bis sometimes referred to as “character object 60 b”.

The object data 32 includes image object data 41, character object data42, and device data 43. The image object data 41 includes information onthe image object 60 a. The character object data 42 includes informationon the character object 60 b.

The object-data generation unit 22 performs image recognition processingusing the template data 31 stored in the storage unit 30 to identify theobject name and the coordinates of the image object 60 a from the imagedata 3, and generate the image object data 41.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the image object data 41 includesinformation on the image object 60 a including the object name “solenoidvalve” and the coordinates “x1, y2”. In the following descriptions, theobject name of the image object 60 a is sometimes referred to as “symboltype”.

The object-data generation unit 22 performs character recognitionprocessing to identify the character string and the coordinates of thecharacter object 60 b from the image data 3, and generate the characterobject data 42. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the characterobject data 42 includes information on the character object 60 bincluding the character string “water pipe valve” and the coordinates“x1, y1”.

Further, the object-data generation unit 22 generates the device data 43on the basis of the image object data 41 and the character object data42. Specifically, the object-data generation unit 22 determines whetherthe distance between the coordinates of the image object 60 a and thecoordinates of the character object 60 b falls within a set range.

When the distance between the coordinates of the image object 60 a andthe coordinates of the character object 60 b falls within a set range,the object-data generation unit 22 generates the device data 43 in whichthe object name and the coordinates of the image object 60 a areassociated with the character string of the character object 60 b.

The device data 43 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes the object type“solenoid valve”, the character string “water pipe valve”, and thecoordinates “x1, y2”. The coordinates included in the device data 43 arenot the coordinates of the character object 60 b, but are thecoordinates of the image object 60 a.

On the basis of the character object data 42, the device data 43, andthe definition data 34, the screen-data generation unit 23 generates themonitoring screen data 33 that is data of a monitoring screen includinga plurality of objects 61 a to 61 d.

The definition data 34 includes component definition data (notillustrated) including the object name “solenoid valve” and a symbolimage of the solenoid valve. The screen-data generation unit 23 extractsthe symbol image of the solenoid valve from the component definitiondata, assigns the extracted symbol image of the solenoid valve to thecoordinates “x1, y2” included in the object data 32, and assigns thecharacter string “water pipe valve” included in the character objectdata 42 to the coordinates “x1, y1” so as to generate the monitoringscreen data 33.

The definition data 34 described above is stored in the storage unit 30through an input device described later. In a case where thecommunication unit 10 receives the definition data 34 generated by anexternal device through the network 2, the control unit 20 can store thedefinition data 34 received by the communication unit 10 in the storageunit 30.

The objects 61 a, 61 c, and 61 d in the monitoring screen data 33illustrated in FIG. 2 are image objects whose object name and coordinateposition match those of the corresponding objects 60 a, 60 c, and 60 d.The object 61 b is a character object whose character string andcoordinate position match those of the object 60 b. The screen-datageneration unit 23 can also generate the monitoring screen data 33 byusing the image object data 41 instead of using the device data 43.

The assignment processing unit 24 generates assignment data 36 in whichdata that defines a state transition is assigned to the image object 60a included in a monitoring screen. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2,the assignment data 36 includes the object name “solenoid valve” and astate transition “state transition 1”. The state transition “statetransition 1” indicates a behavior in accordance with the state of asignal. The assignment processing unit 24 generates thedefinition-assigned monitoring screen data 35 that includes theassignment data 36 and the monitoring screen data 33.

The data output unit 25 outputs the definition-assigned monitoringscreen data 35 that includes the image object 61 a to which informationindicating a state transition is assigned by the assignment processingunit 24. The definition-assigned monitoring screen data 35 can also bedisplayed on a display device described later.

In this manner, the monitoring-screen-data generation device 1 canautomatically generate from the image data 3 the definition-assignedmonitoring screen data 35 in which data that defines a state transitionis assigned to the image object 61 a illustrating a monitoring-targetobject. Thus, as compared to the case where data that defines a statetransition is manually assigned to an image object, themonitoring-screen-data generation device 1 can more easily generate thedefinition-assigned monitoring screen data 35 in which data that definesa state transition is assigned to the image object 61 a.

The configuration and operation of the monitoring-screen-data generationdevice 1 are described below in more detail. FIG. 3 is a diagramillustrating a specific example configuration of themonitoring-screen-data generation device 1.

The control unit 20 in the monitoring-screen-data generation device 1illustrated in FIG. 3 further includes a display control unit 26 and aninput processing unit 27 in addition to the image-data obtaining unit21, the object-data generation unit 22, the screen-data generation unit23, the assignment processing unit 24, and the data output unit 25 whichare described above.

The image-data obtaining unit 21 obtains from the communication unit 10the image data 3 input from outside through the network 2 to themonitoring-screen-data generation device 1. The image data 3 is obtainedas a screenshot of the computer screen or obtained by drawing a pictureby hand and then capturing the picture by a capturing unit. It is alsopossible that the image data 3 is obtained by capturing a computerscreen with a capturing unit. Examples of the capturing unit include acamera and a scanner.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the image of the imagedata 3. The image of the image data 3 illustrated in FIG. 4 includesimage objects 70 a to 70 f that are symbol components, image objects 71a to 71 e that are line components, and character objects 72 a to 72 fthat are character strings. In the following descriptions, the imageobjects 70 a to 70 f are sometimes referred to as “image object 70”, theimage objects 71 a to 71 e are sometimes referred to as “image object71”, and the character objects 72 a to 72 f are sometimes referred to as“character object 72”.

The object-data generation unit 22 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes atemplate-matching processing unit 51, a character-identificationprocessing unit 52, and a device-data generation unit 53. Thetemplate-matching processing unit 51 is an example of a firstidentification unit. The character-identification processing unit 52 isan example of a second identification unit.

The template-matching processing unit 51 identifies the image objects 70and 71 included in the image of the image data 3 on the basis of thetemplate data 31 stored in the storage unit 30. The template data 31includes information in which a reference image of the symbol componentis associated with the symbol type for each symbol type and informationin which a reference image of the line component is associated with theline type for each line type.

The template-matching processing unit 51 compares each image object 70with the reference image of the symbol component to thereby determinethe symbol type, the coordinates, and the size of each image object 70.The template-matching processing unit 51 compares each image object 71with the reference image of the line component to thereby determine theline name, the coordinates, and the size of each image object 71.

The template-matching processing unit 51 generates and stores the imageobject data 41 that includes the name, the coordinates, and the size ofthe image objects 70 a to 70 f and 71 a to 71 e in the storage unit 30.FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the image object data 41.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the image object data 41 includes data inwhich the type, the coordinates, and the size of each image object 70are associated with each other. The symbol type indicates the type ofthe image object 70 that is a symbol component. The coordinates indicatethe coordinates at the center or the edge of the image object 70. Thesize indicates the horizontal and vertical size of the image object 70.In order that image objects of the same type are distinguishable fromeach other, a numeral is added to the symbol type of the image object 70in the example illustrated in FIG. 5.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the image object data 41 includesdata of the image object 70 a in which the symbol type “solenoid valve1”, the coordinates “50, 25”, and the size “10×10” are associated witheach other. The image object data 41 also includes data of the imageobject 70 b in which the symbol type “solenoid valve 2”, the coordinates“240, 25”, and the size “10×10” are associated with each other. Theimage object data 41 further includes data of the image objects 70 c to70 f as well as the data of the image objects 70 a and 70 b.

Although information on the image objects 71 a to 71 e is notillustrated in the example in FIG. 5, the image object data 41 includesdata that indicates the line name, the coordinates, and the size of eachimage object 71. The coordinates refer to coordinates at the startpoint, the end point, and the branch point of the image object 71. Thesize refers to the line width of the image object 71.

Referring back to FIG. 3, further descriptions are given of theobject-data generation unit 22. The character-identification processingunit 52 in the object-data generation unit 22 performs characterrecognition processing to identify the character string, thecoordinates, and the size of the character objects 72 a to 72 f includedin the image of the image data 3, and generate the character object data42. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the character objectdata 42.

The character object data 42 illustrated in FIG. 6 includes data inwhich the character string, the coordinates, and the size of eachcharacter object 72 are associated with each other. The coordinatesindicate the coordinates of the initial character or at the center ofthe character object 72. The size refers to the font size of thecharacter object 72.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the character object data 42includes data of the character object 72 a in which the character string“first water purification plant”, the coordinates “5, 5”, and the size“18” are associated with each other. In addition, the character objectdata 42 includes data of the character object 72 b in which thecharacter string “first water pipe valve”, the coordinates “50, 15”, andthe size “12” are associated with each other. The character object data42 further includes data of the character objects 72 c to 72 f as wellas the data of the character objects 72 a and 72 b.

Referring back to FIG. 3, further descriptions are given of theobject-data generation unit 22. The device-data generation unit 53 inthe object-data generation unit 22 generates the device data 43 on thebasis of the image object data 41 and the character object data 42.

Specifically, the device-data generation unit 53 compares thecoordinates of the image object 70 with the coordinates of the characterobject 72. When the distance between the coordinates of the image object70 and the coordinates of the character object 72 falls within a setrange, the device-data generation unit 53 determines the image object 70and the character object 72 as objects associated with each other. Thedevice-data generation unit 53 then generates the device data 43 inwhich the symbol type, the coordinates, and the size of the image object70 are associated with the character string of the character object 72related to the image object 70.

It is allowable that the set range described above differs depending onthe positional relation between the coordinates of the image object 70and the coordinates of the character object 72. In this case, it isallowable that a set distance range yth when there is a verticalpositional relation on the coordinate system between the coordinates ofthe image object 70 and the coordinates of the character object 72 isgreater than a set distance range xth when there is a horizontalpositional relation on the coordinate system between the coordinates ofthe image object 70 and the coordinates of the character object 72. Dueto these set distance ranges, a character object having a verticalpositional relation with an image object on the coordinate system can beassociated with this image object with higher priority.

In a case where a plurality of character objects are present within aset range from the coordinates of an image object, the device-datageneration unit 53 can give a higher priority to a character objecthaving a vertical positional relation with the image object on thecoordinate system to associate this character object with the imageobject.

The device-data generation unit 53 calculates a distance d between animage object and a character object by assigning different weights to adistance y in the vertical direction and to a distance x in thehorizontal direction between the image object and the character object,and thus can associate with each other an image object and a characterobject having the shortest distance d.

It is assumed that the coordinates of an image object are defined as“x1, y1”, while the coordinates of a character object are defined as“x2, y2”. In this case, the device-data generation unit 53 can associatean image object with a character object having the shortest distance d,led by the following equation (1), among a plurality of characterobjects that are present within a set range from the coordinates of theimage object. In the following equation (1), when k1<k2, the distance inthe vertical direction can be heavily weighted.

d=√(k1×x1−k1×x2)²+(k2×y1−k2×y2)²}  (1)

In a case where a plurality of character objects are present within aset range from the coordinates of an image object, the device-datageneration unit 53 can associate the image object with the characterobjects.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the device data 43. Asillustrated in FIG. 7, the device data 43 includes data in which thesymbol type, the device name, the coordinates, and the size areassociated with each other.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the symbol type “solenoid valve 1”is associated with the device name “first water pipe valve”, thecoordinates “50, 25”, and the size “10×10”. The symbol type “solenoidvalve 2” is associated with the device name “second water pipe valve”,the coordinates “240, 25”, and the size “10×10”. Likewise, each of thesymbol types “right-side outlet pump 1”, “numerical-value button 1”,“right-side outlet pump 2”, and “numerical-value button 2” is associatedwith the device name, the coordinates, and the size.

The object-data generation unit 22 stores, in the storage unit 30, theobject data 32 that includes the image object data 41, the characterobject data 42, and the device data 43, which are generated in themanner as described above.

Referring back to FIG. 3, further descriptions are given of the controlunit 20. The screen-data generation unit 23 in the control unit 20generates the monitoring screen data 33 on the basis of the characterobject data 42, the device data 43, and component definition data 44.The component definition data 44 refers to data that is included in thedefinition data 34 and that associates the symbol type with the symbolimage.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the component definitiondata 44. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the symbol type “solenoid valve” isassociated with the symbol image of the solenoid valve, while the symboltype “right-side outlet pump” is associated with the symbol image of theright-side outlet pump.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the screen of themonitoring screen data 33. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, themonitoring screen data 33 includes image objects 80 a to 80 f that aresymbol components, image objects 81 a to 81 e that are line components,and character objects 82 a to 82 f that are character strings.

The screen-data generation unit 23 assigns the image objects 80 a to 80f illustrated in FIG. 9 on a monitoring screen on the basis of thesymbol type, the coordinates, and the size of the image objects 70 a to70 f included in the image object data 41.

Specifically, the screen-data generation unit 23 extracts a symbol imageassociated with the symbol type of the image object 70 a from thecomponent definition data 44. The screen-data generation unit 23assigns, as the image object 80 a, the extracted symbol image at thecoordinate position of the image object 70 a such that the extractedsymbol image has a size of the image object 70 a.

That is, the screen-data generation unit 23 assigns, as the image object80 a, the image of the symbol type “solenoid valve” at the position ofthe coordinates “50, 25” such that it has a size “10×10”. Thescreen-data generation unit 23 performs the same process on the imageobjects 80 b to 80 f as having performed on the image object 80 a.

The screen-data generation unit 23 assigns the image objects 81 a to 81e illustrated in FIG. 9 on the monitoring screen on the basis of theline type, the coordinates, and the size of the image objects 71 a to 71e included in the image object data 41.

Specifically, the screen-data generation unit 23 extracts a line imageassociated with the line type of the image object 81 a from thecomponent definition data 44. The screen-data generation unit 23assigns, as the image object 81 a, the extracted line image at thecoordinate position of the image object 71 a such that the extractedline image has a size of the image object 71 a. The screen-datageneration unit 23 performs the same process on the image objects 81 bto 81 e as having performed on the image object 81 a.

The screen-data generation unit 23 assigns the character objects 82 a to82 f illustrated in FIG. 9 on the monitoring screen on the basis of thecharacter string, the coordinates, and the size of the character objects72 a to 72 f included in the character object data 42.

Specifically, the screen-data generation unit 23 assigns, as thecharacter object 82 a, the character string of the character object 72 aat the coordinate position of the character object 72 a such that it hasa size of the character object 72 a. That is, the screen-data generationunit 23 assigns, as the character object 82 a, the character string“first water purification plant” at the position of the coordinates “5,5” such that it has a size of “18”. The screen-data generation unit 23performs the same process on the character objects 82 b to 82 f ashaving performed on the character object 82 a.

The monitoring screen data 33 generated by the screen-data generationunit 23 includes the image, the object name, and the coordinates of eachof the image objects 80 a to 80 f and 81 a to 81 e, and also includesthe character string and the coordinates of each of the characterobjects 82 a to 82 f. It is sufficient if the monitoring screen data 33is configured such that each of the image objects 80 a to 80 f and 81 ato 81 e is displayed in such a manner that it is possible to indicate astate transition. The data configuration is not limited to the exampledescribed above.

Referring back to FIG. 3, further descriptions are given of the controlunit 20. On the basis of item definition data 45 and the object data 32,the assignment processing unit 24 in the control unit 20 generates thedefinition-assigned monitoring screen data 35 in which data that definesa state transition is assigned to each of the image objects 80 a to 80 fincluded in a monitoring screen. The item definition data 45 is dataincluded in the definition data 34 and defines a state transition.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the item definition data45. The item definition data 45 is data that defines a state transition,in which the device name, the behavior, the signal name, and the signalcode are associated with each other as illustrated in FIG. 10. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 10, a numerical value is added to each ofthe state transitions such that the state transitions aredistinguishable from each other.

“Device name” is the name of a monitoring-target device provided in aplant. “Behavior” is information indicating a behavior of a symbol thatis the image object 80. For example, the “behavior” is informationindicating how the image object 80 is changed depending on the signalstate, and is also information for displaying an operation screen forthe monitoring-target device on the basis of an operation on the imageobject 80.

“Signal name” is the name of a signal received from themonitoring-target device. “On” represents a signal indicating whetherthe device is in operation or stopped. “Fault” represents a signalindicating the occurrence of a fault. “Flow rate” represents the amountof water flowing by a pump. “Signal code” is an identification code of asignal of a device included in the monitoring control system thatmonitors and controls the plant. Examples of the signal of the deviceinclude an instrumentation signal, a control signal, and a sensorsignal.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, in the item definition data 45,the behavior “behavior 1”, the signal name “on”, and the signal code“D11” are associated with the device name “first water pipe valve”.“Behavior 1” is information in which the signal state is associated withthe status of a change in at least one of color, shape, and pattern ofthe image object 80. Therefore, on the basis of the state of a signalwith the signal code “D11”, the status of the image object 80 ischanged.

The behavior “behavior 2”, the signal name “fault”, and the signal code“D12” are also associated with the device name “first water pipe valve”in the item definition data 45. “Behavior 2” is information in which thesignal state is associated with the status of a change in at least oneof color, shape, and pattern of the image object 80. Therefore, on thebasis of the state of a signal with the signal code “D12”, the status ofthe image object 80 is changed.

In the item definition data 45, the behavior, the signal name, and thesignal code are associated with each of the device names in the itemdefinition data 45, which are “second water pipe valve”, “first waterpump”, and “second water pump”, in the same manner as the device name“first water pipe valve”. For example, the behavior “behavior 6”, thesignal name “flow rate”, and the signal code “D16” are associated withthe device name “first water pump”. “Behavior 6” is informationindicating a display of the signal state. Therefore, the flow rate thatis the state of a signal with the signal code “D16” is displayed as theimage object 80.

The assignment processing unit 24 generates the assignment data 36 onthe basis of the item definition data 45 and the object data 32.Specifically, the assignment processing unit 24 compares the device nameincluded in the item definition data 45 with the device name included inthe device data 43. The assignment processing unit 24 generates theassignment data 36 in which the behavior and the signal, included in theitem definition data 45 including a device name that matches the devicename included in the device data 43, are associated with the symbol typeincluded in the device data 43.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the assignment data 36.As illustrated in FIG. 11, the assignment data 36 is data in which thesymbol type, the behavior, and the signal code are associated with eachother. In the assignment data 36 illustrated in FIG. 11, the behavior“behavior 1” and the signal code “D11” are associated with the imageobject 80 a that is a symbol of the symbol type “solenoid valve 1”.

In addition, the behavior “behavior 2” and the signal code “D12” areassociated with the image object 80 a that is a symbol of the symboltype “solenoid valve 1”. A behavior and a signal code are also assignedto each of the symbols of the image objects 80 b to 80 f in the samemanner as the image object 80 a.

It is sufficient if the assignment data 36 is configured such that abehavior and a signal are assigned to the symbols of the image objects80 a to 80 f. The assignment data 36 is not limited to the exampleillustrated in FIG. 11. For example, it is also possible that a behaviorand a signal code are assigned not to the symbol types of the imageobjects 80 a to 80 f but to identifiers of the image objects 80 a to 80f.

It is further possible that the assignment data 36 includes informationindicating the coordinates of the image objects 80 a to 80 f, instead ofthe identifiers or the symbol types of the image objects 80 a to 80 f.That is, it is sufficient if the assignment data 36 is data in which abehavior and a signal code are assigned to information that can identifythe image objects 80 a to 80 f.

It is sufficient if the definition-assigned monitoring screen data 35 isconfigured such that a behavior and a signal are assigned to the imageobjects 80 a to 80 f. It is also allowable that a behavior and a signalare assigned to the image objects 80 a to 80 f by using assignment dataother than the assignment data 36 described above. That is, it issufficient if the monitoring control system that monitors and controlsthe plant is configured such that the definition-assigned monitoringscreen data 35 is consequently generated in which a behavior and asignal are assigned to the image object 80 indicating amonitoring-target device so that the behavior is implemented inaccordance with the state of the signal.

Referring back to FIG. 3, further descriptions are given of the controlunit 20. The display control unit 26 in the control unit 20 can displaydata stored in the storage unit 30 on a display device 4. Specifically,the display control unit 26 can selectively display at least one of theobject data 32, the monitoring screen data 33, the definition data 34,and the definition-assigned monitoring screen data 35 on the displaydevice 4.

The input processing unit 27 in the control unit 20 can change at leastone of the object data 32, the monitoring screen data 33, the definitiondata 34, and the definition-assigned monitoring screen data 35 on thebasis of an input to an input device 5.

The processing in the control unit 20 is described below using aflowchart. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processingin the control unit 20 according to the first embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the image-data obtaining unit 21 in thecontrol unit 20 obtains the image data 3 from outside (Step S10). Next,the object-data generation unit 22 in the control unit 20 extracts aplurality of objects included in the image of the image data 3, andgenerates the object data 32 (Step S11). A process at Step S11 isequivalent to processes at Steps S20 to S31 which are described later inFIG. 13, which are described later in detail.

Next, the screen-data generation unit 23 in the control unit 20generates the monitoring screen data 33 that is data of a monitoringscreen on the basis of the object data 32 generated at Step S11 and thecomponent definition data 44 (Step S12). The control unit 20 generatesthe definition-assigned monitoring screen data 35 that includes theassignment data 36 and the monitoring screen data 33 (Step S13). Aprocess at Step S13 is equivalent to processes at Steps S40 to S44illustrated in FIG. 14, which are described later in detail.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the process at Step S11 illustratedin FIG. 12. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the object-data generation unit22 reads the template data 31 from the storage unit 30 (Step S20). Next,the object-data generation unit 22 uses the template data 31 to performa process of identifying an image object included in the image data 3(Step S21).

The object-data generation unit 22 determines whether the identifiedimage object is a symbol component (Step S22). When the object-datageneration unit 22 determines that the identified image object is asymbol component (YES at Step S22), the object-data generation unit 22generates data of the symbol component (Step S23). When the object-datageneration unit 22 determines that the identified image object is not asymbol component (NO at Step S22), the object-data generation unit 22generates data of a line component (Step S24).

When a process at Step S23 or Step S24 is ended, the object-datageneration unit 22 determines whether the process of identifying all ofthe image objects included in the image data 3 has been ended (StepS25). When the object-data generation unit 22 determines that theprocess of identifying all of the image objects has not yet been ended(NO at Step S25), the object-data generation unit 22 returns to theprocess at Step S21.

When the object-data generation unit 22 determines that the process ofidentifying all of the image objects has been ended (YES at Step S25),the object-data generation unit 22 generates the image object data 41that includes the data of the symbol components generated at Step S23and the data of the line components generated at Step S24 (Step S26).

Next, the object-data generation unit 22 performs a process ofidentifying a character object included in the image data 3 (Step S27),and generates data of the identified character object (Step S28). Theobject-data generation unit 22 determines whether the process ofidentifying all of the character objects included in the image data 3has been ended (Step S29).

When the object-data generation unit 22 determines that the process ofidentifying all of the character objects has not yet been ended (NO atStep S29), the object-data generation unit 22 returns to the process atStep S27. When the object-data generation unit 22 determines that theprocess of identifying all of the character objects has been ended (YESat Step S29), the object-data generation unit 22 generates the characterobject data 42 that includes the data of all of the character objectsgenerated at Step S28 (Step S30).

Next, the object-data generation unit 22 generates the device data 43 onthe basis of the image object data 41 generated at Step S26 and thecharacter object data 42 generated at Step S30 (Step S31), and then endsthe processes illustrated in FIG. 13.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the process at Step S13 illustratedin FIG. 12. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the assignment processing unit 24in the control unit 20 determines whether the device data 43 has beengenerated at Step S11 (Step S40).

When the device data 43 is determined to have been generated (YES atStep S40), the assignment processing unit 24 reads the item definitiondata 45 from the storage unit 30 (Step S41). The assignment processingunit 24 then performs a process of generating the assignment data 36 onthe basis of the item definition data 45 and the object data 32 (StepS42).

Next, the assignment processing unit 24 determines whether theassignment data 36 has been generated (Step S43). The assignment data 36is generated when at least one of the character strings of the “devicename” included in the item definition data 45 matches a character stringof the device name included in the device data 43. In contrast, theassignment data 36 is not generated when any of the character strings ofthe “device name” included in the item definition data 45 does not matcha character string of the device name included in the device data 43.

When the assignment data 36 is determined to have been generated (YES atStep S43), the assignment processing unit 24 generates thedefinition-assigned monitoring screen data 35 that includes theassignment data 36 and the monitoring screen data 33 (Step S44).

When it is determined that the device data 43 has not been generated atStep S40 (NO at Step S40), when it is determined that the assignmentdata 36 has not been generated at Step S43 (NO at Step S43), or when aprocess at Step S44 has been ended, the control unit 20 ends theprocesses illustrated in FIG. 14.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configurationof the monitoring-screen-data generation device 1 according to the firstembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 15, the monitoring-screen-datageneration device 1 is a computer including a processor 101, a memory102, an HDD 103, and an interface circuit 104. The processor 101, thememory 102, the HDD 103, and the interface circuit 104 are capable oftransmitting and receiving data to and from each other through a bus105. The communication unit 10 is implemented by the interface circuit104. The storage unit 30 is implemented by the memory 102 and the HDD103.

The processor 101 reads and executes the OS and processing programsstored in the HDD 103 so as to implement the respective functions of theimage-data obtaining unit 21, the object-data generation unit 22, thescreen-data generation unit 23, the assignment processing unit 24, thedata output unit 25, the display control unit 26, and the inputprocessing unit 27. The processor 101 can also read the OS andprocessing programs from one or more of the storage media including amagnetic disc, a universal serial bus (USB) memory, an optical disc, acompact disc, and a digital versatile disc (DVD) through an interface(not illustrated), and can store the OS and processing programs in theHDD 103 and execute the OS and processing programs.

The processor 101 is an example of the processing circuit, and includesone or more of a CPU, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a systemlarge scale integration (LSI). The memory 102 is a storage area to beused as a workspace for the processor 101, and is a nonvolatile orvolatile semiconductor memory as typified by a random access memory(RAM).

As described above, the monitoring-screen-data generation device 1according to the first embodiment includes the image-data obtaining unit21, the object-data generation unit 22, the screen-data generation unit23, and the assignment processing unit 24. The image-data obtaining unit21 obtains the image data 3 that is data of an image. The object-datageneration unit 22 identifies a plurality of objects 70, 71, and 72included in the image of the image data 3 obtained by the image-dataobtaining unit 21, and generates the object data 32 that includesinformation on the identified objects 70, 71, and 72. On the basis ofthe object data 32 generated by the object-data generation unit 22, thescreen-data generation unit 23 generates the monitoring screen data 33that is data of a monitoring screen including the image objects 70 and71 and a character object 72. On the basis of the definition data 34that defines a state transition, and the object data 32, the assignmentprocessing unit 24 assigns the assignment data 36, which is an exampleof the data that defines a state transition, to the image object 70included in the monitoring screen of the monitoring screen data 33.

Thus, as compared to the case where the assignment data 36 is manuallyassigned to the image object 70, the monitoring-screen-data generationdevice 1 can more easily generate the definition-assigned monitoringscreen data 35 in which the assignment data 36 is assigned to the imageobject 61 a. The monitoring-screen-data generation device 1 can generatethe monitoring screen data 33 from screenshot image data or image datacaptured by a scanner.

For this reason, the monitoring-screen-data generation device 1 canstill generate the monitoring screen data 33 on the basis of anotherfirm's monitoring screen image data which does not have datacompatibility.

The object-data generation unit 22 further includes thetemplate-matching processing unit 51 that is an example of the firstidentification unit, the character-identification processing unit 52that is an example of the second identification unit, and thedevice-data generation unit 53. The template-matching processing unit 51identifies the image objects 70 and 71 among a plurality of objects 70,71, and 72, and generates the image object data 41 that includes thecoordinates of the identified image objects 70 and 71. Thecharacter-identification processing unit 52 identifies the characterobject 72 that is an object of characters among the objects 70, 71, and72, and generates the character object data 42 that includes thecoordinates of the identified character object 72. On the basis of thecoordinates of the image object 70 and the coordinates of the characterobject 72, the device-data generation unit 53 generates the device data43 in which the image object 70 is associated with the character object72. On the basis of the result of comparison between the device nameincluded in the definition data 34 and the character object 72 includedin the device data 43, the assignment processing unit 24 assigns theassignment data 36 that defines a state transition to the image object70 included in the monitoring screen. In this manner, the device data 43in which the image object 70 is associated with the character object 72is generated, so that data that defines a state transition can be easilyassigned to the image object 70.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that ascaling process is added. In the scaling process, an object sizeddifferently from the image object of the image data 3 is included in themonitoring screen data 33. In the following descriptions, constituentelements having functions identical to those of the first embodiment aredenoted by like reference signs and explanations thereof will beomitted, and differences from the monitoring-screen-data generationdevice 1 according to the first embodiment are mainly explained. FIG. 16is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of amonitoring-screen-data generation device 1A according to the secondembodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 16, a control unit 20A in themonitoring-screen-data generation device 1A according to the secondembodiment further includes a scaling processing unit 28 in addition tothe configuration of the control unit 20. A storage unit 30A in themonitoring-screen-data generation device 1A can store therein correctedobject data 37 in addition to the data stored in the storage unit 30.

The scaling processing unit 28 reads the object data 32 from the storageunit 30A, generates scaling-factor setting screen data on the basis ofthe object data 32 having been read, and outputs the scaling-factorsetting screen data to the display control unit 26. On the basis of thescaling-factor setting screen data, the display control unit 26 displaysa scaling-factor setting screen on the display device 4.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scaling-factor settingscreen 62 displayed on the display device 4. On the scaling-factorsetting screen 62 illustrated in FIG. 17, entry boxes 63 a to 63 f areplaced for individual symbol components that are image objects, entryboxes 64 a to 64 e are placed for individual line components that areimage objects, and entry boxes 65 a to 65 f are placed for individualcharacter strings that are character objects.

The multiplying factor set in each of the entry boxes 63 a to 63 f, 64 ato 64 e, and 65 a to 65 f is a scaling factor of an object included inthe image of the image data 3. The multiplying factor set in each of theentry boxes 63 a to 63 f, 64 a to 64 e, and 65 a to 65 f can be changedby an operation through the input device 5.

When a setting button 67 provided on the scaling-factor setting screen62 is operated through the input device 5, the scaling processing unit28 generates the corrected object data 37 by multiplying the size of thecorresponding object in the object data 32 by a multiplying factor whichhas been changed by the operation through the input device 5 among themultiplying factors in the entry boxes 63 a to 63 f, 64 a to 64 e, and65 a to 65 f. The scaling processing unit 28 stores the generatedcorrected object data 37 in the storage unit 30A.

In a case where the image object 80 a of the symbol type “solenoid valve1” has a size “10×10” as illustrated in FIG. 7, when the multiplyingfactor in the entry box 63 a is changed to “80%”, then the scalingprocessing unit 28 changes the size of the image object 80 a to “8×8”.

When a cancel button 68 provided on the scaling-factor setting screen 62is operated through the input device 5, the scaling processing unit 28deletes the corrected object data 37 stored in the storage unit 30A.

On the scaling-factor setting screen 62 illustrated in FIG. 17, an entrybox 66 is placed in order to set the multiplying factor of all of theobjects collectively. The multiplying factor set in the entry box 66 canalso be changed by an operation through the input device 5 in the samemanner as the multiplying factor set in each of the entry boxes 63 a to63 f, 64 a to 64 e, and 65 a to 65 f.

When the setting button 67 provided on the scaling-factor setting screen62 is operated through the input device 5, the scaling processing unit28 generates the corrected object data 37 by multiplying the sizes ofall of the objects included in the object data 32 by the multiplyingfactor set in the entry box 66. The scaling processing unit 28 storesthe generated corrected object data 37 in the storage unit 30A.

In the example described above, the “multiplying factor” is specified inthe entry boxes 63 a to 63 f, 64 a to 64 e, 65 a to 65 f, and 66. It isalso possible to specify the “size” in the entry boxes 63 a to 63 f, 64a to 64 e, 65 a to 65 f, and 66.

The processing in the control unit 20A is described below using aflowchart. FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processingin the control unit 20A according to the second embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 18, the image-data obtaining unit 21 in thecontrol unit 20A obtains the image data 3 from outside (Step S50). Next,the object-data generation unit 22 in the control unit 20A extracts aplurality of objects included in the image of the image data 3, andgenerates the object data 32 (Step S51). The process at Step S51 isequivalent to the processes at Step S20 to S30 in FIG. 13 describedabove. The process at Step S31 in FIG. 13 is performed as a process atStep S56 described later.

Next, the scaling processing unit 28 in the control unit 20A generatesscaling-factor setting screen data on the basis of the object data 32,while the display control unit 26 displays the scaling-factor settingscreen 62 on the display device 4 on the basis of the scaling-factorsetting screen data (Step S52).

Subsequently, the scaling processing unit 28 determines whether there isa request for scaling setting (Step S53). When the setting button 67described above is operated, the scaling processing unit 28 determinesthat there is a request for scaling setting. When the scaling processingunit 28 determines that there is a request for scaling setting (YES atStep S53), the scaling processing unit 28 generates the corrected objectdata 37 by multiplying the size of the corresponding object in theobject data 32 by a multiplying factor set in the entry box on thescaling-factor setting screen 62 (Step S54).

Next, the screen-data generation unit 23 in the control unit 20Agenerates the monitoring screen data 33 that is data of a monitoringscreen on the basis of the corrected object data 37 generated at StepS54 and the component definition data 44 (Step S55). The control unit20A performs the same process as at Step S31 to generate the device data43 on the basis of the corrected object data 37 (Step S56). The controlunit 20A performs the same process as at Step S13 to generate thedefinition-assigned monitoring screen data 35 that includes theassignment data 36 and the monitoring screen data 33 (Step S57).

The assignment processing unit 24 can also change the type and thenumeric of a behavior to be assigned to an image object in accordancewith the size of the image object. In this case, the item definitiondata 45 is data in which the device name, the behavior, the signal name,and the signal code are associated with each other for each size type.The size types represent a plurality of size ranges. The size range is,for example, the size that ranges from “6×6” or more to less than “8×8”.There may be a case where the size of an image object becomes so smallthat it is difficult to visually recognize the behavior of the imageobject. However, by changing the type and numeric of the behavior to beassigned to the image objects in accordance with each size of the imageobjects in the manner as described above, it is possible to assign abehavior that is more visible.

In the example described above, the scaling processing unit 28 generatesthe corrected object data 37 before the screen-data generation unit 23generates the monitoring screen data 33. The scaling processing unit 28can also generate the corrected object data 37 after the screen-datageneration unit 23 generates the monitoring screen data 33. In thiscase, on the basis of an operation on an object of the monitoring screendata 33 generated based on the object data 32, the scaling processingunit 28 can change the scaling of the object and generate the correctedobject data 37.

An example of the hardware configuration of the monitoring-screen-datageneration device 1A according to the second embodiment is identical tothe hardware configuration of the monitoring-screen-data generationdevice 1 illustrated in FIG. 15. The processor 101 reads and executesprograms stored in the memory 102 that functions as the storage unit30A, and can thereby implement the function of the scaling processingunit 28 in addition to the functions of the control unit 20 describedabove.

As described above, the monitoring-screen-data generation device 1Aaccording to the second embodiment includes the scaling processing unit28 that is an example of the size changing unit. The scaling processingunit 28 changes the size of a part or all of the objects 70 a to 70 f,71 a to 71 e, and 72 a to 72 f (see FIG. 4) included in the object data32. The screen-data generation unit 23 generates the monitoring screendata 33 on the basis of the corrected object data 37 that includes dataof any of the objects 70 a to 70 f, 71 a to 71 e, and 72 a to 72 f whosesize has been changed by the scaling processing unit 28. Due to thisoperation, the object size of a part of the objects 70 a to 70 f, 71 ato 71 e, and 72 a to 72 f is changed and thereby the part of the objectscan be highlighted. Moreover, a plurality of pieces of object dataobtained from plural types of image data 3 can be combined to generate asingle monitoring screen in such a manner that the objects 70 a to 70 f,71 a to 71 e, and 72 a to 72 f do not overlap one another. Therefore,the monitoring screen data 33 with higher visibility can be generatedmore flexibly.

Third Embodiment

In the first and second embodiments, the assignment data 36 is createdon the basis of the item definition data 45. A third embodiment isdifferent from the first and second embodiments in that assignment datais created on the basis of item template data. In the followingdescriptions, constituent elements having functions identical to thoseof the first embodiment are denoted by like reference signs andexplanations thereof will be omitted, and differences from themonitoring-screen-data generation device 1 according to the firstembodiment are mainly explained. However, the third embodiment can alsobe applied to the monitoring-screen-data generation device 1A accordingto the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of amonitoring-screen-data generation device 1B according to the thirdembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 19, a control unit 20B in themonitoring-screen-data generation device 1B according to the thirdembodiment includes an assignment processing unit 24B in place of theassignment processing unit 24. A storage unit 30B in themonitoring-screen-data generation device 1B further stores therein itemtemplate data 38 and signal definition data 46 in addition to the datastored in the storage unit 30.

The item template data 38 is data in which the symbol type, the signalname, and the behavior are associated with each other. FIG. 20 is adiagram illustrating an example of the item template data 38. In theitem template data 38 illustrated in FIG. 20, the signal name “on” andthe “behavior 1” are associated with the symbol type “solenoid valve”,while the signal name “fault” and the “behavior 2” are associated withthe symbol type “solenoid valve”.

In the item template data 38, the signal name “on” and the “behavior 3”are associated with the symbol type “pump”, while the signal name “flowrate” and the “behavior 4” are associated with the symbol type “pump”.

The signal name “on” represents a signal indicating whether the deviceis in operation or stopped. The “behavior 1” and “behavior 3” associatedwith the signal name “on” are data indicating a behavior of the symbolin accordance with the signal state. The signal name “fault” representsa signal indicating a device fault. The “behavior 2” associated with thesignal name “fault” is data indicating a behavior of the symbol when thedevice is faulty.

The signal definition data 46 is data in which the device name, thesignal name, and the signal code are associated with each other. Thesignal definition data 46 is stored in the storage unit 30B through theinput device 5. In a case where the communication unit 10 receives thesignal definition data 46 generated by an external device through thenetwork 2, the control unit 20B can store the signal definition data 46received by the communication unit 10 in the storage unit 30B.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of the signal definitiondata 46. In the signal definition data 46 illustrated in FIG. 21, thesignal name “on” and the signal code “D11” are associated with thedevice name “first water pipe valve”, while the signal name “fault” andthe signal code “D12” are associated with the device name “first waterpipe valve”. Likewise, the signal name and the signal code areassociated with each of the device names “second water pipe valve”,“first water pump”, and “second water pump”.

On the basis of the item template data 38, the signal definition data46, and the object data 32, the assignment processing unit 24B generatesassignment data 36B that defines a state transition for an image objectincluded in a monitoring screen. Specifically, on the basis of thedevice data 43 and the signal definition data 46, the assignmentprocessing unit 24B generates temporary assignment data in which thesignal name and the signal code have been set for each device nameincluded in the device data 43.

More specifically, the assignment processing unit 24B compares thesymbol type included in the signal definition data 46 with the symboltype included in the device data 43. The assignment processing unit 24Bthen determines a device name associated with the symbol type thatmatches the symbol type in the signal definition data 46, in the devicedata 43. For example, the symbol type “solenoid valve”, included in theitem template data 38 illustrated in FIG. 20, matches the symbol types“solenoid valve 1” and “solenoid valve 2” included in the device data 43illustrated in FIG. 7. The symbol types “solenoid valve 1” and “solenoidvalve 2” are associated with the device names “first water pipe valve”and “second water pipe valve”, respectively.

The assignment processing unit 24B extracts, for a device namedetermined to have a matching symbol type, a signal name and a signalcode from the signal definition data 46, the signal name and signal codebeing associated with the symbol type that matches the device name, andthen generates temporary assignment data in which the extracted signalname and signal code are associated with the device name. For example,the temporary assignment data includes data in which the signal name“on” and the signal code “D11” are associated with “first water pipevalve”, and includes data in which the signal name “fault” and thesignal code “D12” are associated with “first water pipe valve”.

Further, on the basis of the item template data 38, the assignmentprocessing unit 24B sets in the temporary assignment data a behaviorcorresponding to a combination of the device name and the signal typeincluded in the temporary assignment data, and generates the assignmentdata 36B.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of the assignment data 36B.As illustrated in FIG. 22, in the assignment data 36B, the behavior“behavior 1” is set for the signal name “on” and the behavior “behavior2” is set for the signal name “fault” with respect to “first water pipevalve” and “second water pipe valve” that are “solenoid valve”. Inaddition, the behavior “behavior 3” is set for the signal name “on” andthe behavior “behavior 4” is set for the signal name “flow rate” withrespect to “first water pump” and “second water pump” being “pump”.

The item template data 38 described above is data in which the symbolname, the signal name, and the behavior are associated with each other.It is also allowable that the item template data 38 is data notassociated with the symbol name. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustratinganother example of the item template data 38. In the item template data38 illustrated in FIG. 23, the behavior “behavior 1” is set for thesignal name “on”, while the behavior “behavior 2” is set for the signalname “fault”.

In a case of using the item template data 38 illustrated in FIG. 23, theassignment processing unit 24B assigns a behavior only by the signalname regardless of the symbol name. Thus, in the assignment data 36B,the behavior “behavior 1” is set for the signal name “on” and thebehavior “behavior 2” is set for the signal name “fault” with respect to“first water pump” and “second water pump”. In the item template data 38illustrated in FIG. 23, it is also allowable that the behavior “behavior2” is not set for the signal name “fault” but the behavior “behavior 3”is set for the signal name “flow rate”.

The processing in the control unit 20B is described below using aflowchart. FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processingin the control unit 20B according to the third embodiment, whichcorresponds to Step S13 illustrated in FIG. 12.

As illustrated in FIG. 24, the assignment processing unit 24B in thecontrol unit 20B determines whether the device data 43 has beengenerated in the same manner as in the process at Step S40 (Step S60).When the device data 43 is determined to have been generated (YES atStep S60), the assignment processing unit 24B reads the item templatedata 38 and the signal definition data 46 from the storage unit 30B(Steps S61 and S62).

The assignment processing unit 24B performs a process of generating theassignment data 36B on the basis of the item template data 38, thesignal definition data 46, and the object data 32 (Step S63). Theassignment processing unit 24B generates the definition-assignedmonitoring screen data 35 that includes the assignment data 36B and themonitoring screen data 33 (Step S64).

An example of the hardware configuration of the monitoring-screen-datageneration device 1B according to the third embodiment is identical tothe hardware configuration of the monitoring-screen-data generationdevice 1 illustrated in FIG. 15. The processor 101 reads and executesprograms stored in the memory 102 that functions as the storage unit30B, and can thereby implement the function of the assignment processingunit 24B in place of the assignment processing unit 24.

In the manner as described above, the object-data generation unit 22 inthe monitoring-screen-data generation device 1B according to the thirdembodiment identifies the image object 70, and generates the imageobject data 41 that includes the type of the identified image object 70.On the basis of the result of comparison between the type of the imageobject 70 included in the signal definition data 46 and the type of theimage object 70 included in the image object data 41, the assignmentprocessing unit 24B assigns the assignment data 36B that defines a statetransition to the image object 70 included in a monitoring screen.

Due to this operation, even when there is not the item definition data45 in which the device name is associated with the behavior, theassignment processing unit 24B can still use the item template data 38having a simpler definition than the item definition data 45 to assigndata that defines a state transition to the image object 70 included inthe monitoring screen. This can save time and effort to redefine thebehavior of an image object for each monitoring screen, and thereforethe definition-assigned monitoring screen data 35 can be easilygenerated. In a case of using the item template data 38 illustrated inFIG. 23, the assignment processing unit 24B can assign a behavior onlyby the signal name regardless of the symbol name, and therefore thedefinition-assigned monitoring screen data 35 can be more easilygenerated.

When a behavior or a signal code cannot be assigned to an image objecton the basis of the item definition data 45, the assignment processingunit 24B can use the item template data 38 to assign a behavior and asignal code to this image object. Due to this operation, even when thereis data loss in the item definition data 45, the state transition datacan still be assigned to an image object.

Fourth Embodiment

In the first to third embodiments, the monitoring screen data 33 isgenerated without selecting an object included in the image of the imagedata 3. A fourth embodiment is different from the first to thirdembodiments in that a part of the objects is masked to generate themonitoring screen data 33. In the following descriptions, constituentelements having functions identical to those of the first embodiment aredenoted by like reference signs and explanations thereof will beomitted, and differences from the monitoring-screen-data generationdevice 1 according to the first embodiment are mainly explained.However, the fourth embodiment can also be applied to themonitoring-screen-data generation devices 1A and 1B according to thesecond and third embodiments.

As illustrated in FIG. 25, a control unit 20C in amonitoring-screen-data generation device 1C according to the fourthembodiment further includes a mask setting unit 29 in addition to theconfiguration of the control unit 20. A storage unit 30C in themonitoring-screen-data generation device 1C can store therein objectdata after masking 39 in addition to the data stored in the storage unit30.

The mask setting unit 29 reads the object data 32 from the storage unit30C, generates mask setting screen data on the basis of the object data32 having been read, and outputs the mask setting screen data to thedisplay control unit 26. On the basis of the mask setting screen data,the display control unit 26 displays a mask setting screen on thedisplay device 4.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of the mask setting screendisplayed on the display device 4. On a mask setting screen 69illustrated in FIG. 26, check boxes 73 a to 73 f are placed forindividual symbol components that are image objects, and check boxes 74a to 74 e are placed for individual line components that are imageobjects. On the mask setting screen 69, check boxes 75 a to 75 f areplaced for individual character strings that are character objects.

When a setting button 76 provided on the mask setting screen 69 isoperated through the input device 5, the mask setting unit 29 generatesthe object data after masking 39 that excludes an object for which anyof the check boxes 73 a to 73 f, 74 a to 74 e, and 75 a to 75 f, onwhich a check operation has been performed through the input device 5,is set. The mask setting unit 29 stores the generated object data aftermasking 39 in the storage unit 30C.

As illustrated in FIG. 26, when the setting button 76 is operated aftera check operation has been performed on the check boxes 73 e and 73 f,the mask setting unit 29 performs mask setting on image objectscorresponding to the symbol type “right-side outlet pump 2” and“numerical-value button 2”. Due to this operation, the object data aftermasking 39 is generated in which the image objects corresponding to thesymbol type “right-side outlet pump 2” and “numerical-value button 2”have been excluded from the object data 32.

When a cancel button 77 provided on the mask setting screen 69 isoperated through the input device 5, the mask setting unit 29 deletesthe object data after masking 39 stored in the storage unit 30C.

The processing in the control unit 20C is described below using aflowchart. FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processingin the control unit 20C according to the fourth embodiment. Processes atSteps S70, S71, S76, and S77 illustrated in FIG. 27 are the sameprocesses at Steps S50, S51, S56, and S57 illustrated in FIG. 18, andexplanations thereof will be omitted in the following descriptions.

As illustrated in FIG. 27, at Step S72, the mask setting unit 29 in thecontrol unit 20C generates mask setting screen data on the basis of theobject data 32, while the display control unit 26 displays the masksetting screen on the display device 4 on the basis of the mask settingscreen data.

Next, the mask setting unit 29 determines whether there is a request formask setting (Step S73). When the setting button 76 described above isoperated, the mask setting unit 29 determines that there is a requestfor mask setting. When the mask setting unit 29 determines that there isa request for mask setting (YES at Step S73), the mask setting unit 29generates the object data after masking 39 in which an object havingundergone mask setting has been excluded (Step S74).

Subsequently, the screen-data generation unit 23 in the control unit 20Cgenerates the monitoring screen data 33 that is data of a monitoringscreen on the basis of the object data after masking 39 generated atStep S74 and the component definition data 44 (Step S75). The controlunit 20C performs the same process as at Step S31 to generate the devicedata 43 on the basis of the object data after masking 39 (Step S76).

In the example described above, an object to be excluded is selected.However, the mask setting unit 29 can also generate the object dataafter masking 39 in which an object other than the selected object hasbeen excluded. In the example described above, the mask setting unit 29generates the object data after masking 39 in which a part of theobjects has been excluded on the basis of an operation on a check box.However, a part of the objects can also be excluded by any method otherthan using the check box. After the monitoring screen data 33 isgenerated, the mask setting unit 29 can also generate the object dataafter masking 39 in which an object selected from the image of themonitoring screen data 33 has been excluded.

An example of the hardware configuration of the monitoring-screen-datageneration device 1C according to the fourth embodiment is identical tothe hardware configuration of the monitoring-screen-data generationdevice 1 illustrated in FIG. 15. The processor 101 reads and executesprograms stored in the memory 102 that functions as the storage unit30C, and can thereby implement the function of the mask setting unit 29in addition to the functions of the control unit 20 described above.

As described above, the monitoring-screen-data generation device 1Caccording to the fourth embodiment includes the mask setting unit 29that is an example of the data changing unit. The mask setting unit 29generates the object data after masking 39 in which a part of aplurality of objects 70 a to 70 f, 71 a to 71 e, and 72 a to 72 f (seeFIG. 4) has been excluded from the object data 32. On the basis of theobject data after masking 39 generated by the mask setting unit 29, thescreen-data generation unit 23 generates the monitoring screen data 33in which the part of the objects has been excluded. Due to thisoperation, the monitoring screen data 33 in which unnecessary objectshave been excluded can be easily generated.

Fifth Embodiment

A fifth embodiment is different from the first to fourth embodiments inthat an additional function is further provided. With this additionalfunction, the monitoring screen data 33 is generated in which objectsincluded in images of plural types of image data 3 are placed on asingle monitoring screen. In the following descriptions, constituentelements having functions identical to those of the first embodiment aredenoted by like reference signs and explanations thereof will beomitted, and differences from the monitoring-screen-data generationdevice 1 according to the first embodiment are mainly explained.However, the fifth embodiment can also be applied to themonitoring-screen-data generation devices 1A to 1C according to thesecond to fourth embodiments.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of amonitoring-screen-data generation device 1D according to the fifthembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 28, a control unit 20D in themonitoring-screen-data generation device 1D according to the fifthembodiment includes an object-data merge unit 40 in addition to theconfiguration of the control unit 20. A storage unit 30D in themonitoring-screen-data generation device 1D can further store thereinmerged object data 47 in addition to the data stored in the storage unit30.

It is assumed that the image-data obtaining unit 21 in the control unit20D obtains first image data 3 a of an image illustrated in FIG. 29 andsecond image data 3 b of an image illustrated in FIG. 30. FIG. 29 andFIG. 30 are diagrams illustrating an example of the image data obtainedby the image-data obtaining unit 21. The first image data 3 aillustrated in FIG. 29 is identical to the image data 3 illustrated inFIG. 4.

The image of the image data 3 b illustrated in FIG. 30 includes imageobjects 70 g to 70 i that are symbol components, image objects 71 f to71 h that are line components, and character objects 72 g to 72 k thatare character strings.

The object-data generation unit 22 generates the object data 32 thatincludes object data of the first image data 3 a and object data of thesecond image data 3 b. In the following descriptions, the object data ofthe first image data 3 a is referred to as “object data 32 a”, and theobject data of the second image data 3 b is referred to as “object data32 b”.

The object data 32 a includes image object data 41 a, character objectdata 42 a, and device data 43 a. The image object data 41 a is identicalto the image object data 41 described above. The character object data42 a is identical to the character object data 42 described above. Thedevice data 43 a is identical to the device data 43 described above.

The object data 32 b includes image object data 41 b, character objectdata 42 b, and device data 43 b. The image object data 41 b includesrecord data of each of the image objects 70 g to 70 i and record data ofeach of the image objects 71 f to 71 h. The record data of each of theimage objects 70 g to 70 i includes data indicating the symbol type, thecoordinates, and the size. The record data of each of the image objects71 f to 71 h includes data indicating the line type, the coordinates,and the size.

The character object data 42 b includes record data of each of thecharacter objects 72 g to 72 k. The device data 43 b includes recorddata of each of the image objects 70 g to 70 i.

The object-data merge unit 40 performs a process of merging the objectdata 32 a and the object data 32 b respectively generated from the imagedata 3 a and the image data 3 b to generate the merged object data 47,and stores the generated merged object data 47 in the storage unit 30D.

FIG. 31 and FIG. 32 are explanatory diagrams illustrating merging of theobject data 32 a with the object data 32 b. As illustrated in FIG. 31,in the merging process, the object-data merge unit 40 merges thecharacter object data 42 a and the character object data 42 b into asingle piece of character object data 42 c.

The object-data merge unit 40 retrieves a character string that matchesbetween the character object data 42 a and the character object data 42b, and performs the merging process by relatively changing a part of thecoordinates with reference to the matching character string obtained bythe retrieval. In a case where there are a plurality of characterstrings that match between the character object data 42 a and thecharacter object data 42 b, the object-data merge unit 40 performs themerging process using, among the plurality of character strings, acharacter string that matches a device name common between the devicedata 43 a and the device data 43 b as a reference.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 31, the device name “first water pipevalve” is common between the character object data 42 a and thecharacter object data 42 b. With reference to the coordinates of thecharacter string “first water pipe valve” in the character object data42 a, the object-data merge unit 40 changes the coordinates of thecharacter string “first water pipe valve” in the character object data42 b.

Specifically, the object-data merge unit 40 shifts the coordinates ofthe character string “first water pipe valve” in the character objectdata 42 b to the coordinates of the character string “first water pipevalve” in the character object data 42 a. The object-data merge unit 40also shifts the coordinates of character strings other than thecharacter string “first water pipe valve” in the character object data42 b by a shift amount equal to that of the coordinates of the characterstring “first water pipe valve” so as to change the coordinates of eachrecord data included in the character object data 42 b.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 31, the shift amount is “−190, 0”.

The object-data merge unit 40 deletes record data with a characterstring that overlaps with the character string in the character objectdata 42 a, among the character strings in the character object data 42 bwhose coordinates have been changed, and merges the character objectdata 42 a with the character object data 42 b. Due to this operation,the character object data 42 c illustrated in FIG. 31 is generated.

As illustrated in FIG. 32, the object-data merge unit 40 performs themerging process of merging the device data 43 a and the device data 43 binto a single piece of device data 43 c. In the merging process, theobject-data merge unit 40 retrieves a device name that matches betweenthe device data 43 a and the device data 43 b to perform the mergingprocess with reference to the matching device name obtained by theretrieval. In a case where there are a plurality of device names thatmatch between the device data 43 a and the device data 43 b, theobject-data merge unit 40 performs the merging process with reference toone of the matching device names.

In an example illustrated in FIG. 32, the device name “first water pipevalve” is common between the device data 43 a and the device data 43 b.The object-data merge unit 40 changes the coordinates of each recorddata included in the device data 43 b with reference to the coordinatesof the device name “first water pipe valve” in the device data 43 a.

Specifically, the object-data merge unit 40 shifts the coordinates ofthe device name “first water pipe valve” in the device data 43 b to thecoordinates of the device name “first water pipe valve” in the devicedata 43 a. The object-data merge unit 40 also shifts the coordinates ofcharacter strings other than the device name “first water pipe valve” inthe device data 43 b by a shift amount equal to that of the coordinatesof the device name “first water pipe valve” so as to change thecoordinates of each record data included in the device data 43 b. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 32, the shift amount is “−190, 0”.

The object-data merge unit 40 deletes record data with a device namethat overlaps with the device name in the device data 43 a, among therecord data in the device data 43 b whose coordinates have been changed,and merges the device data 43 a with the device data 43 b. Due to thisoperation, the device data 43 c illustrated in FIG. 32 is generated.

In the example described above, the object-data merge unit 40 performsthe merging process with reference to a device name that matches betweenthe device data 43 a and the device data 43 b. The object-data mergeunit 40 can also perform the merging process with reference to acombination of a device name and a symbol type that matches between thedevice data 43 a and the device data 43 b.

Next, the object-data merge unit 40 generates the merged object data 47by performing a process of correcting the coordinates and the size ofeach object such that the objects 70 a to 70 i, 71 a to 71 h, and 72 ato 72 k defined in the character object data 42 c and the device data 43c can be displayed on a single monitoring screen. The correction processcan be performed by scaling down and shifting the area of thecoordinates of the objects 70 a to 70 i, 71 a to 71 h, and 72 a to 72 k.The object-data merge unit 40 stores the generated merged object data 47in the storage unit 30D. The merged object data 47 includes characterobject data 92 and device data 93.

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating an example of the character objectdata 92 included in the merged object data 47. FIG. 34 is a diagramillustrating an example of the device data 93 included in the mergedobject data 47.

As illustrated in FIG. 33, the coordinates of each character object inthe character object data 42 c have been changed to the coordinates ofeach character object in the character object data 92 so that thecharacter objects can be displayed on a single monitoring screen. Whilein the example illustrated in FIG. 33, the size of each character objectremains unchanged, the object-data merge unit 40 can change the size ofeach character object.

Specifically, in the merged object data 47, the size of a characterobject can be changed by using the reduction rate that is equal to thatof the image object. Due to this operation, each object can be scaleddown by the reduction rate same as the image data 3 a and 3 b. In themerged object data 47, the reduction rate of the size of a characterobject can be made smaller than that of the image object. This canprevent a character object from becoming excessively small. The mergedobject data 47 can limit the size of a character object so as not tobecome smaller than the lower-limit value.

As illustrated in FIG. 34, the coordinates and the size of each symboltype in the device data 43 c have been changed to the coordinates andthe size of each symbol type in the device data 93 so that the imageobjects can be displayed on a single monitoring screen.

The screen-data generation unit 23 generates the monitoring screen data33 on the basis of the merged object data 47. FIG. 35 is a diagramillustrating an example of a monitoring screen 7 displayed on thedisplay device 4 using the monitoring screen data 33 generated by thescreen-data generation unit 23 on the basis of the merged object data47. As illustrated in FIG. 35, the monitoring screen 7 includes an imageobtained by merging the image illustrated in FIG. 29 with the imageillustrated in FIG. 30 into a single screen.

The assignment processing unit 24 generates the definition-assignedmonitoring screen data 35 on the basis of the definition data 34 thatdefines a state transition and the device data 93 in the merged objectdata 47. The definition-assigned monitoring screen data 35 is dataincluding the monitoring screen data 33 and the assignment data 36 thatdefines a state transition for an image object included in a monitoringscreen.

The processing in the control unit 20D is described below using aflowchart. FIG. 36 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processingin the control unit 20D according to the fifth embodiment andillustrating processes to be performed between Step S11 and Step S12 inFIG. 12, between Step S51 and Step S52 in FIG. 18, or between Step S71and Step S72 in FIG. 27.

As illustrated in FIG. 36, at Step S81, the object-data merge unit 40 inthe control unit 20D determines whether there are pieces of object datagenerated from different types of image data (Step S81). At Step S81,when the object data 32 stored in the storage unit 30D includes piecesof object data generated from different types of image data, theobject-data merge unit 40 determines that there are pieces of objectdata generated from different types of image data. Whether pieces ofobject data are generated from different types of image data isdetermined by the matching rate of the pieces of object data.

When it is determined that there are pieces of object data generatedfrom different types of image data (YES at Step S81), the object-datamerge unit 40 determines whether there is record data having a characterstring or a device name that matches between different pieces of objectdata (Step S82). In a process at Step S82, the object-data merge unit 40determines whether there is a character string that matches betweenpieces of character object data obtained from different types of imagedata. The object-data merge unit 40 determines whether there is a devicename that matches between pieces of device data obtained from thedifferent types of image data.

When it is determined that there is record data having a characterstring or a device name that matches between different pieces of objectdata (YES at Step S82), the object-data merge unit 40 uses thecoordinates in either record data having a matching character string ora matching device name as a reference to relatively change thecoordinates in object data including the other record data to mergeplural pieces of object data (Step S83).

In a process at Step S83, for example, the object-data merge unit 40merges plural pieces of character object data 42 a and 42 b to generatethe character object data 42 c as illustrated in FIG. 31, while mergingplural pieces of device data 43 a and 43 b to generate the device data43 c as illustrated in FIG. 32.

Next, the object-data merge unit 40 determines whether there is recorddata having the coordinates outside the screen (Step S84). When theobject-data merge unit 40 determines that there is record data havingthe coordinates outside the screen (YES at Step S84), the object-datamerge unit 40 corrects the coordinates and the size in the record datasuch that the coordinates in all the record data can be accommodatedwithin a single screen (Step S85).

In a process at Step S85, for example, the object-data merge unit 40 cancorrect the character object data 42 c illustrated in FIG. 31 togenerate the character object data 92 illustrated in FIG. 33, and canalso correct the device data 43 c illustrated in FIG. 32 to generate thedevice data 93 illustrated in FIG. 34.

When the process at Step S85 is ended, when it is determined that thereare not pieces of object data generated from different types of imagedata (NO at Step S81), when it is determined that there is not matchingrecord data (NO at Step S82), or when it is determined that there is notrecord data having the coordinates outside the screen (NO at Step S84),the object-data merge unit 40 ends processes illustrated in FIG. 36.

The assignment processing unit 24 can also change the behavior to beassigned to an image object in accordance with the size of the imageobject in the same manner as performed by the assignment processing unit24B. Due to this operation, even when the size of the image object is sosmall that it is difficult to visually recognize the behavior of theimage object, it is possible to assign a more visible behavior to theimage object.

The object-data merge unit 40 can also generate the merged object data47 within a range where the size of the object becomes greater than athreshold. This can prevent generation of the monitoring screen data 33with an excessively small object.

An example of the hardware configuration of the monitoring-screen-datageneration device 1D according to the fifth embodiment is identical tothe hardware configuration of the monitoring-screen-data generationdevice 1 illustrated in FIG. 15. The processor 101 reads and executesprograms stored in the memory 102 that functions as the storage unit30D, and can thereby implement the function of the object-data mergeunit 40 in addition to the functions of the control unit 20 describedabove.

As described above, the monitoring-screen-data generation device 1Daccording to the fifth embodiment includes the object-data merge unit40. The object-data merge unit 40 merges the object data 32 a and theobject data 32 b which are generated from plural types of image dataobtained by the image-data obtaining unit 21. On the basis of the mergedobject data 47 merged by the object-data merge unit 40, the screen-datageneration unit 23 generates the monitoring screen data 33 that is dataof a single monitoring screen. Due to this operation, the screen-datageneration unit 23 can generate the monitoring screen data 33 that isdata of a single monitoring screen easily from plural types of imagedata.

The configurations described in the above embodiments are only examplesof the content of the present invention. The configurations can becombined with other well-known techniques, and a part of each of theconfigurations can be omitted or modified without departing from thescope of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

1, 1A to 1D monitoring-screen-data generation device, 2 network, 4display device, 5 input device, 10 communication unit, 20, 20A to 20Dcontrol unit, 21 image-data obtaining unit, 22 object-data generationunit, screen-data generation unit, 23B, 30, 30A to 30D storage unit, 24,24B assignment processing unit, 25 data output unit, 26 display controlunit, 27 input processing unit, 28 scaling processing unit, 29 masksetting unit, template data, 32, 32 a, 32 b object data, 33 monitoringscreen data, 34 definition data, 35 definition-assigned monitoringscreen data, 36, 36B assignment data, 37 corrected object data, 38 itemtemplate data, 39 object data after masking, 40 object-data merge unit,41, 41 a, 41 b image object data, 42, 42 a to 42 c character objectdata, 43, 43 a to 43 c device data, component definition data, 45 itemdefinition data, 46 signal definition data, 47 merged object data, 51template-matching processing unit, 52 character-identificationprocessing unit, 53 device-data generation unit.

1. A monitoring-screen-data generation device comprising: an image-dataobtainer to obtain image data that is data of an image; an object-datagenerator to identify a plurality of objects included in the image ofthe image data obtained by the image-data obtainer, and to generateobject data that includes information on the objects identified; ascreen-data generator to generate monitoring screen data on a basis ofthe object data generated by the object-data generator, the monitoringscreen data being data of a monitoring screen including an image objectthat is an object of an image among the objects; and an assignmentprocessor to, on a basis of definition data that defines a statetransition and the object data, assign data that defines the statetransition to the image object included in a monitoring screen of themonitoring screen data.
 2. The monitoring-screen-data generation deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the definition data includes data in whicha device name is associated with the state transition, the object-datagenerator includes a first identifier to identify the image object amongthe objects, and to generate image object data that includes coordinatesof the image object identified, a second identifier to identify acharacter object that is an object of a character among the objects, andto generate character object data that includes coordinates and acharacter string of the character object identified, and a device-datagenerator to generate device data in which the image object isassociated with the character object on a basis of coordinates of theimage object and coordinates of the character object, and on a basis ofa result of comparison between the device name included in thedefinition data and the character string included in the device data,the assignment processor assigns data that defines the state transitionto the image object included in the monitoring screen.
 3. Themonitoring-screen-data generation device according to claim 1, whereinthe definition data includes data in which a type of the image object isassociated with the state transition, the object-data generatoridentifies the image object and generates image object data thatincludes a type of the image object identified, and on a basis of aresult of comparison between a type of the image object included in thedefinition data and a type of the image object included in the imageobject data, the assignment processor assigns data that defines thestate transition to the image object included in the monitoring screen.4. The monitoring-screen-data generation device according to claim 1,comprising a size changer to change a size of the object included in theobject data, wherein the screen-data generator generates the monitoringscreen data on a basis of the object data that includes data of theobject whose size is changed by the size changer.
 5. Themonitoring-screen-data generation device according to claim 1,comprising a data changer to generate object data in which informationon a part of the objects is excluded from the object data, wherein on abasis of the object data generated by the data changer, the screen-datagenerator generates monitoring screen data in which information on thepart of the objects excluded.
 6. The monitoring-screen-data generationdevice according to claim 1, comprising an object-data combiner to mergethe object data generated from plural types of image data obtained bythe image-data obtainer, wherein on a basis of object data merged by theobject-data combiner, the screen-data generator generates monitoringscreen data that is data of a single monitoring screen.
 7. Amonitoring-screen-data generation method comprising: obtaining imagedata that is data of an image; identifying a plurality of objectsincluded in the image of the obtained image data, and generating objectdata that includes information on the objects identified; generatingmonitoring screen data on a basis of the generated object data, themonitoring screen data being data of a monitoring screen including animage object that is an object of an image among the objects; and on abasis of definition data that defines a state transition and the objectdata, assigning data that defines the state transition to the imageobject included in the monitoring screen.
 8. A non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium that stores therein amonitoring-screen-data generation program causing a computer to execute:obtaining image data that is data of an image; identifying a pluralityof objects included in the image of the obtained image data, andgenerating object data that includes information on the objectsidentified; generating monitoring screen data on a basis of thegenerated object data, the monitoring screen data being data of amonitoring screen including an image object that is an object of animage among the objects; and on a basis of definition data that definesa state transition and the object data, assigning data that defines thestate transition to the image object included in the monitoring screen.